For the first time in more than ten years, the artwork of world-renowned sculptor Dale Chihuly will be featured in a major exhibition in New York. Returning to The New York Botanical Garden beginning in spring 2017, CHIHULY, presented by Bank of America, will be a new experience with monumental installations within and around the most celebrated sites in the Botanical Garden’s landscape. The new exhibition will also feature a display of Chihuly’s drawings. On select evenings, the installations throughout the Garden will be dramatically illuminated in a celebration of color, form, and light. The exhibition will run from April 22 through October 29, 2017.

New Chihuly Installations Throughout the Botanical Garden

The dramatic vistas of The New York Botanical Garden through changing seasons will be a showcase for Chihuly’s dynamic works of art with their organic shapes in brilliant colors. New hand-blown glass sculptures, created specifically for NYBG, will complement the architecture of the Garden’s Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, itself considered a work of glass art. Other sites for the artist’s creations throughout NYBG’s 250-acre National Historic Landmark landscape include the Conservatory Courtyard pools, Lillian and Amy Goldman Fountain of Life, Leon Levy Visitor Center, Arthur and Janet Ross Conifer Arboretum, and Native Plant Garden. These one-of-a-kind installations will highlight the connections of artwork to the natural world.

Chihuly Drawings in the Art Gallery

In the LuEsther T. Mertz Library’s Art Gallery, visitors will be treated to an exhibition of drawings by Dale Chihuly. These compelling creations offer a direct representation of the energy behind his artistic process. In addition, educational materials and study pieces will help visitors understand the artist’s process.

Chihuly Nights and Programming for All Ages

During “Chihuly Nights,” the Garden’s vistas will become living canvases as the sculptures are dramatically illuminated, allowing visitors to enjoy live performance art, themed cocktails, shopping, and extended hours on select evenings. Themed nights will offer dedicated events for NYBG audiences, including LGBT, Family, and Adults-Only Nights. Select dates will offer open air concerts.

In the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden, young visitors will explore the connections among art, science, and nature through guided activities facilitated by trained Teen Explainers. Using Chihuly’s sculptures as references, children will learn about form, color, and light as seen through the prism of nature in the garden. Daily programs will provide opportunities to observe the relationship between science and nature-based artwork and to create nature-inspired art.

Chihuly at NYBG Mobile Guide Companion

The Chihuly at NYBG Mobile Guide companion, made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies, will deliver content to handheld devices that is dynamically customized to the user’s location, transforming how visitors are guided through the exhibition and Garden grounds. Each installation will appear as an icon on a virtual map. As visitors approach those installations, the Mobile Guide will trigger additional rich contextual information about the artwork or the process of its creation. This location-aware guide will revolutionize the way in which visitors interact with an outdoor living museum. Another feature of the Mobile Guide will allow visitors to share their own photographed images of the sculptures. Mobile media is generously supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies through its Bloomberg Connects program, a global initiative that helps cultural institutions innovate and engage audiences through digital platforms.